Case Study on Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)



Case Study on Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Introduction

Heart functions as pump to supply fresh blood to all the organs of the body with the help of arteries and in return receive the impure or deoxygenated blood from the veins and then oxygenate it from the oxygen received from the lungs (www.mayoclinic.com). Then again transfer this oxygenated blood to the organs from the veins. This completes the system of circulation of blood in the body with the help of pumping action of the blood. Heart failure is the condition in which this pumping action of heart muscles fails to perform the task of blood circulation properly. This complete dysfunction of the cardiac muscles stops the activities of all the functions of all the organs and thus results in death. Congestive heart failure is the condition in which the heart muscles become weak to perform the task of pumping the blood. This requires much effort for the heart muscles to pump the blood and results in severe chest pain. In this problem blood could not circulate properly in the body and creates problem for the patient as the blood pressure increased and blood being accumulated in the vessels stared forcing blood towards the tissues. There are various reasons for congestive heart failure one of the reasons is the blockage in the valve or valves of the heart. In most of the conditions it also becomes difficult for the patient to breath.

Discussion

Case Study on Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

It is the case study of the overweight, white female presented in the emergency room with the major complains of racing heart beat, swelling of ankles, easily fatigued and having difficulty in breathing. She complained SOB and PND paraoximal nocturnal dyspnea. Analyzing Patient's past medical history for risk factors for heart failure

Patient's past history and family history clearly reveals the risks of heart failure. Her family history reveals that her father died of heart attack at the age of 65 and her mother died at age of 70 due to multiple transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) which are minor strokes but confirms the history of heart problems in the patient. Further case taking and investigation of the patient provides that patient is a heavy smoker and smokes one pack of cigarettes per day for 40 yrs. Smoking is one of the major reasons of heart diseases. Apart from her present complaints her past history shows that she has past complaints of coronary artery disease (CAD), dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes that is diet controlled, as well as history of atria fib. Her surgeries include a prosthetic aortic valve replacement, an appendectomy, and hysterectomy. She had an aortic valve replacement and 2-vessel coronary bypass surgery. The increased level of cholesterol is also a very common reason for the heart diseases. All these problems reveal that the patient has very high chances of heart failure.

Pathophysiology of CHF

It is a complex clinical syndrome caused mainly due to the problems with the functions in the cardiac ...